Nopal-cactus thorns removal hand tool and method

Abstract

A Hand Tool for Removing Nopal-Cactus Thorns is similar in shape to a spoon. This hand tool has a Hole shaped as a polygonal star in its head with a narrow area surrounding that hole for removing the skin and the superficial Thorns of the Nopal Petal by repeatedly rubbing the utensil against the surface of the Petal in a longitudinal fashion, without need of sharpening the edge of the Hole. A Secondary Hole for removing the hardest Thorns and those in the edges and corners of the Nopal Petals and a Corner Blade for cutting it in small squares or small stripes are also present in the tool.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]This invention relates generally to the field of hand devices for scraping or peeling vegetables, more particularly to a hand device for peeling and preparing a Nopal-Cactus for cooking and / or eating in a safe way by removing its Thorns from the edible part thereof, also named “Green-Flesh”.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]In some areas from USA, Mexico and other countries where cacti abound, it is very common to use the Green-Flesh from some of them—mainly from the famous Nopal-Cactus, also called “Nopal” or “prickly pear”—for different applications. Nopal-Cactus is considered a great food which can be prepared in different ways. The scope of its utility is not limited to food preparation. This vegetable is also considered a great natural medicine against different health issues (i.e. diabetes treatments, where it has been demonstrated that this vegetable is capable to decrease blood sugar in people with this problem) due to the nutrients, vitamins and minerals...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention aims to provide a tool that can quickly and efficiently separate the thorns and skin of cactus petals from their edible parts without wasting excessive components. Additionally, the tool is designed in a way that its edges do not require sharpening to maintain its effectiveness.

Problems solved by technology

Logically, for humans, the challenge of removing those Thorns is a lot more difficult than peeling a normal fruit or vegetable.

It is proved that a kitchen knife is inefficient for this purpose because the shape of the blade, which is normally straight, doesn't fit the concave areas very well.

Therefore, the knife needs to be manipulated in different ways making the cutting process take a long time.

This method is also very tedious (for someone who does NOT master this method it can take up to 10 minutes to remove the Thorns) and most of the time it results in the waste of a significant proportion of the edible part (Green-Flesh) of the vegetable.

Not being specifically designed for plants / vegetables having Thorns, utilization of a common Peeler is highly inefficient (worse than the kitchen knife) as the next lines explain: When the user is about to start the Thorns' Removal process, the peeler's cutting blade is not located flush to the NopalCactus due to a gap that is always created between the vegetable and the base were the blade is mounted, forcing the user to apply great force against the Nopal to barely cut a few Thorns.

Additionally, those movements create cuts in the Nopal-Cactus surface causing its drool (viscous liquid that characterizes the cactus) to come out in excess, hindering the handling of the vegetable during the Thorns' Removal operation.

Moreover, the blade on these cutters is also generally straight, rendering it impractical to remove the Thorns from surfaces that are not partially flat.

The effectiveness of such a design to perform the desired action is unclear, since the blade is still straight making it difficult to operate over curved surfaces (same case as with the kitchen knife).

Besides, this device is made of at least two pieces (the handle and the main body) making it more expensive and complicated to manufacture compared with a Cactus Cleaning Tool made in one piece.

Additionally, as its sharp edge tends to get dull with usage and wear, this device should be frequently sharpened, similarly to the case of the kitchen knife described before.

These irregular complex shapes make the tools (apart from difficult and expensive to manufacture), clumsy and uncomfortable to handle, clean and maintain, and unsuitable for storing them together with the remaining kitchen utensils, for example in a kitchen spoons cabinet or drawer.

However, due to its shape, this tool is not useful for removing the Thorns along of the edges and corners of the Nopal-Cactus leaf (this second operation is necessary to prepare the vegetable for consumption), meaning that the user needs to utilize a second tool, such as a knife, when using this perforated spoon, thus increasing the preparation and cleaning time.

In sum, the need of developing a simple hand tool able to quickly and safely remove all Thorns from a Nopal-Cactus (including the lateral and corner Thorns) without utilization of additional tools (such as kitchen knife), with minimum waste of the edible portion of the vegetable, capable to achieve the removal process quicker than the previous described options and to do it at a low cost, is still unsatisfied.

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